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Think of a brand you love -- one you'd trust with your personal
information, recommend to your friends, and loyally choose over a
similar brand. As an entrepreneur in a skeptical market, creating
that sense of trust takes an ongoing commitment to integrity.

"The biggest challenge is the so-called fragility of trust," says
Roderick Kramer, a professor of organizational behavior at
Stanford University. "Trust is hard-won and easily lost."

To build trust, your customers need to believe three things about
your company:

1. You have their best interests at heart.
2. You are capable of delivering on your promises.
3. You are honest and authentic.

To earn loyal customers who trust your brand, try these three
techniques:

1. Focus on doing your job well. "Most
companies worry far too much about whether or not they are
trusted," Kramer says. Instead, spend your energy delivering on
what you've promised. "Management has to be committed to ′walking
the talk′ in every transaction," he says.

At Dwolla, a web-based payment network,
founder and CEO Ben Milne doesn’t worry about communicating
trust. Instead, he puts his energy into delivering the best
product possible. "If I have to start [telling people to trust
me], then I’ve done a really poor job to begin with,″ he says.

2. Be transparent about mistakes. People
naturally prefer to hide mistakes, but you want to be as direct
and open as possible. ″Any sense of secrecy, concealment, or
dishonesty will undermine the public’s trust," Kramer says. When
you make a mistake, own up to it immediately, share what you’re
doing to correct it, and follow through.

A few years ago, Dwolla went down for a few days -- an eternity
in the tech world. They explained the problem in real time on
their blog, sharing what happened and how they were working to
fix it. To their surprise, everyone responded positively. ″People
just want to know what’s going on," Milne says.

Dwolla encourages the same transparency in its employees. To make
sure every potential problem gets attention, they’ve created a
culture of total honesty. "When [an employee] makes a mistake,
the first thing is not to hide it," Milne says. "We’ll
immediately find you a team of really smart people to help you
solve it. You won’t get fired." Employees are empowered to own up
to mistakes without fear of retribution, so they feel comfortable
putting the customer’s needs first.

3. Stay vigilant over time. Building trust is
not a one-time deal, you have to prove yourself every time the
customer uses your product. "Trust-building and maintenance take
vigilance and sustained effort," Kramer says. "Once you have it,
you can’t rest on your laurels."

If you’re wondering whether the effort is worth it, think of it
this way: Delivering on your promise is your business. If you
don’t deliver, Milne says, "there’s no tagline that fixes
it."